FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Tulare County, California

Blue Ridge Lookout Site (now at the Tulare County Fairgrounds)

Also known as Tulare County Fairgrounds

Built 1930 as a Forest Service/CDF lookout in Tulare County; removed 2010, restored, and now displayed at the county fairgrounds, with sources split on whether the tower or only the cab is shown.

Original site: Blue Ridge Lookout Site (Tulare County)

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. Displayed at the Tulare County Fairgrounds; visitors were admitted during the county fair in 2011 and 2024. No regular opening hours found.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2024)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cab60-foot open steel Aermotor tower with a 7x7 observation cab; cab modified in 1960The design: Aermotor
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1930
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Tulare Unit (CAL FIRE)
Land
Unknown
Location
Tulare County, California
Coordinates
36.20079, −119.34222
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-blue-ridge-lookout-site-at-tulare-county-fairgrounds

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.1 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1930 BuiltBuilt as a cooperative lookout between the Forest Service and CDFSource: firetower.org
  2. 1931 EventResidence constructed on the site; garage followed in 1932Source: firetower.org
  3. No record between 1931 and 1960
  4. 1960 AlteredCab modification (Plan No. 828)Source: firetower.org
  5. No record between 1960 and 2010
  6. 2010 RemovedLifted off its mountain in May 2010 after a four-year effort; taken to CAL FIRE headquarters in Visalia for full restorationSources: firetower.org, firelookout.org
  7. 2011 MovedRestored tower placed at the Tulare County Fairgrounds as a display; opened to visitors during the October 2011 county fairSource: firelookout.org
  8. 2011 RestoredRestoration completedSource: firelookout.org
  9. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 13, 2020Source: firetower.org
  10. 2024 StaffedOpened and staffed by the Buck Rock Foundation and CAL FIRE during the county fair; Foundation representatives gave tours and hundreds of visitors came over three daysSource: buckrock.org
  11. Date unknown MovedMoved from Blue Ridge to the Tulare County Fairgrounds.Source: FFLA
  12. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Blue Ridge Lookout stood about 15 miles east of Springville, with views toward the coastal range and over Yokohl Valley and Exeter.1 It was built in 1930 as an early cooperative lookout, jointly erected by the Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry (CDF).2 The open steel tower was an Aermotor Company product, about 60 feet tall, with a 7-by-7-foot observation cab.2 A residence followed in 1931 and a garage in 1932, and the cab was reworked in 1960.2

A 1991 note in the register describes the site as an intensively used communications site, with tremendous electromagnetic radiation at cab level.2 The sources do not say when routine fire watch ended, and they name no notable fires at this lookout.

CAL FIRE had planned to take the tower down until local lookout enthusiasts stepped in.3 In May 2010 it was lifted off its mountain after a four-year effort and taken to CAL FIRE headquarters in Visalia for full restoration.3 The restored tower went to the Tulare County Fairgrounds, where it opened to visitors during the county fair in October 2011.4

In 2024 the Buck Rock Foundation and CAL FIRE opened the lookout during the county fair, with Foundation representatives giving tours. Hundreds of visitors came over three days.5 Buck Rock describes it as a lookout taken out of service and now displayed at the fairgrounds.5 The Sun-Gazette reported in 2017 that it was on permanent display there.1 The register, however, says only the cabin is used in a ground-level display.2 The sources disagree on whether the full tower or just the cabin is shown today. No regular opening hours appear in them, so check with the fairgrounds before a visit.

  1. Preserving our parks' fire lookouts, The Sun-Gazette, https://thesungazette.com/article/lifestyles/2017/03/29/preserving-our-parks-fire-lookouts/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Blue Ridge Lookout Site (Tulare County), Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/blue-ridge-lookout-site-tulare-county/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. California Sierra/Nevada chapter report 2010, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ca-sn-nevada-2010.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. California Sierra/Nevada chapter report 2011, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ca-sn-nevada-2011.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Blue Ridge at the Tulare County Fair, Buck Rock Foundation, https://buckrock.org/2024/09/30/blue-ridge-at-the-tulare-county-fair/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Sources

  1. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.